SC State Saturday practice report

It was a long day for the South Carolina State football team, which began the day with a morning scrimmage, which was followed by the annual “Meet the Players Day and Fan Fest.”

The priority for Bulldog head coach Buddy Pough and his staff in the approximately 80 -snap scrimmage was how much his team had improved from the Aug. 14 scrimmage, but the highlight for the Bulldog players, perhaps, was receiving their 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Sheridan Broadcasting Network championship rings.

Pough said that he and his staff were looking for a more productive performance from his team, however, he noted that the anticipation of meeting the fans and receiving the 2009 championship rings may have been somewhat of a distraction for the Bulldogs.

“I saw some improvement from a week ago,” Pough said, “But we still have a lot of work to do. When I assess things, I don’t know whether I should be happy or concerned. The defense showed a lot of fire, no matter what group was in there and I’m happy about that.

“On offense,” he continued, “We couldn’t stick it in (the end zone). In fact, we didn’t make much happen on offense until we just put the ball close to the goal line and made it easy for them. We thought the defense would play better.”

Pough said he and the staff were trying to figure out exactly who could do what and which players would step up and contribute.

“We saw some glimmers of hope, but some of the players that had been doing well in practice, were not very productive. Maybe the other activities scheduled were a distraction, but we have to step up. We are only two weeks away for our first game and it’s key that we get rid of any chinks in our armor.”

Pough said Saturday’s scrimmage culminated the meat of his team’s preseason preparations and that the final two weeks would consist of in-season game preps and concentration on the 2010 Sept. 4 opener at Georgia Tech.

A solid group of SC State alums and supporters turned our for “Meet the Players Day and Fan Fest,” which allowed attendees to interact with the players, take pictures and get autographs during the annual event sponsored by the Bulldog Boosters – The STATE Club.